Shopaholic on a Budget

I've been having fun shopping this week. I bought new furniture, new shoes and clothes for the kids, and a new purse for myself. New to us, anyway.

I won't lie - I love to shop. I do get a thrill when I find that thing that I never knew I needed. Have I mentioned before that I have an addiction to kids clothing? Oh, I have?! That's right...it's no secret!

There is no fault in liking nice things or enjoying that thrill of the hunt - as long as it's not breaking the bank, that is. As much as I get new (to us) items, I'm surprised that my husband doesn't complain about his wife being a shopaholic. Oh, that's right, I forgot that while I shop a lot I spend only a very small part of our budget on the actual purchase.

I'm a bargain shopper and often pay much less than 90% of what an item cost originally, mainly because I do my shopping second hand, though I'm not above shopping off clearance racks and actually getting something new at a steep discount. I just can't (and won't!) pay full price when I know a week, month, or year down the road I can find it for 90% cheaper. I almost always find what I am looking for if I just wait a bit for it.

That shopping I did this week? Garage sale shopping! Here are some of my finds from yesterday:
Two Mini Boden shirts for Joe for $2 each, Keen sandals for Joe for $3, and Birckenstocks for Becca for $1

This buffet type table for $20. The finish looks splotchy in this photo but it is not like that in real life. Ignore the missing drawer pull...it just got knocked off during hauling and is sitting on the counter to be put back on! This is one heavy piece but well made, it also has a lot more storage space than the hall table that we had there; storage space is a plus in this tiny house with very limited closet space.

This is either a good find or a spectacular find. It's either a really well made knock off of a Chanel purse, or the real deal. I'm having trouble finding out which one it is but it doesn't matter, as it will be for my personal use. At $5, it was a steal as some of the good knock offs sell for a couple hundred dollars and the real deal can be a thousand or more. Crazy to think that people spend that much on purses, I only picked it up because it was the size I like my purses to be. It feels like real leather, both inside and out. Maybe one of my readers is a purse person and can tell me more.

I also picked up a child's bike seat for the back of an adult bike for $5, which I was about ready to spend $35-$50 on Amazon for as it's been on our wish list for awhile, a few other kids clothes (including size 6 boys jeans which are almost impossible to find used!).

So, it is possible to be a shopaholic and a penny pincher at the same time!